Self-lifting sad iron



July 19, 1955 G. A. BRACE SELF-LIFTING SAD IRON Filed June 29, 1951 FIG.I

United States Patent f SELF-LIFTIN G SAD IRON George A. Brace, Highland Park, Ill., assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 29, 1951, Serial No. 234,234 14 Ciairns. (CI. 3879) This invention relates to sad irons and more particularly to a novel self-lifting support therefor.

Many attempts have been made to provide a collapsible support for sad irons obviating the need for lifting any part of the iron Weight to obtain extension of the support. However, all are subject to numerous shortcomings which are entirely overcome by the present invention. Thus, prior constructions are characterized by costly and complex mechanisms which add unnecessarily to the bulk and weight of the iron. Many require precision made parts and are difiicult to operate. Others require partial lifting of the iron to initiate operation of the lifting mechanism and conduct heat to the operating handle to a highly objectional extent.

These and many other objections inherent in prior designs are avoided in the present greatly improved construction which is unusually simple both structurally and functionally as well as easy to operate, low in cost and highly efficient. Essentially, my self-lifting collapsible rest comprises a rest member or strut which is actuated by a manually controlled floating toggle having a stable extended position and a stable retracted position. The entire mechanism consists of three parts, namely, a supporting strut, a spring and a pivoted control lever.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a new and simplified self-lifting support for a a sad iron.

Another object is the provision of a self-lifting iron support employing a floating toggle actuator.

Still another object is the provision of a collapsible iron rest housed within the front portion of the iron and employing a minimum number of simple parts.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification of an illustrative embodiment of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary side view of an electric sad iron incorporating the invention and showing the: collapsible rest locked in retracted position;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the rest in extended position; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view aiong line 3-3 on Figure 2.

The invention is incorporated in an electric sad iron having a cast aluminum sole plate provided with an embedded electric heating element 11 having terminals located at the rear of the sole plate. The cover shell 12 has a rear end projecting beyond the end of the sole plate to provide a housing for the heating element terminals. Access to this housing is provided by a removable cover plate 13. This cover shell is held assembled to the sole plate by a pair of screws, not shown, but having heads underlying and concealed by the removable temperature regulating dial 14.

The one-piece moulded handle 15 comprises a hand grip 16 supported by a front leg 17 and a rear leg 18. This handle is removably attached to the top of the cover shell 2,713,224 Patented July 19, 1955 such as by screws 19 extending into the front and rear handle legs.

The iron is preferably provided with an adjustable heat control thermostat of any conventional design, not illustrated, but secured to the central portion of the sole plate in the customary manner. The control shaft extends vertically through the top of the shell and supports the regulator dial 14.

The collapsible rest forming an important feature of the invention is located in the forward portion of the iron and partially within a cavity in the front leg of the handle. The rest comprises a vertically positioned plunger or strut 20 which is vertically reciprocable through an opening 21 in the sole plate and an opening 22 in the cover shell. Its upper end normally lies in an irregularly shaped cavity 23 in the front leg of the handle and is bifurcated to support a small roller 24 which rolls along raceways 25 and 26 which are formed integrally with the front leg of the handle and project toward one another from the opposite sides of the plunger. A torsion spring 27 has portions located to either side of plunger 2t? and has a common intermediate end 28 passing through an opening in the plunger and a pair of outer ends 2? pivotally supported in the control lever 30.

As will be best understood be reference to Figure 3, the control lever is bifurcated so as to straddle the plunger, the raceways 25 and 26 and the actuating spring 27. The upper, forward ends of the side members 31, 31 are pivotally supported on the front leg of the handle by a pin 34 frictionally retained in place in opening 35 passing through the front leg of the handle. The rear end of lever 30 has an upwardly extending curved operating member or finger piece 36 passing through an opening 37 in the handle grip. The upper end of this member normally lies flush with the top surface of the handle while the lower end 38 projects below the lower surface of the handle grip in a convenient position to be engaged and actuated by the operators forefinger.

As will be evident from Figures 1 and 2, plunger 20, spring 27, and control lever 39 together constitute a floating toggle mechanism having two stable positions. One of these stable positions is illustrated in Figure 1 while the other is illustrated in Figure 2. Note that in Figure 1, ends 29 of torsion spring 27 are located slightly below the connection of the end 28 with plunger 29. Hence, the spring is now effective to urge lever 30 to rotate clockwise until the lower back wall 39 of the control lever abuts the rear wall 49 of raceway 26. Note that intermediate end 28 of the torsion spring is urging the plunger upwardly against the round ended stop provided in the upper end of cavity 23.

If the operator presses the lower end 38 of the control lever upwardly, ends 29 of the actuating spring are shifted upwardly above the dead center position of the toggle and above the connection of end 28 with the plunger. As a result, ends 29 of the spring now urge the lever upwardly against the stop 43. provided in the handle, while the other end 28 of the spring urges the plunger downwardly to lift the forward end of the iron to the inclined position shown in Figure 2. In this position it will be noted that the entire iron is supported by the plunger and by the rearmost corner of closure plate 13 and the entire sole plate is supported above the ironing surface. it is also to be observed that during the extension of the supporting mechanism the coils of the torsion spring have shifted from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2.

Collapse of the supporting mechanism is accomplished simply by grasping the handle and depressing the front of the iron until the sole plate rests on the ironing surface. The supporting mechanism can then be locked in retracted position by depressing the upper end of control lever 36 to move ends 29 of the toggle spring downwardly below dead center whereupon the toggle spring forces the upper end of the plunger against its seat in the top of the handle and pivots control lever 30 clockwise until wall 39 abuts surface 40. in this position, the lowermost end of the plungeris retracted slightly above the surface of the sole plate. 7

As is self-evident from the foregoing description, the present invention provides an extremely simple, self-lifting iron rest which is housed primarily in a cavity located in the front leg of the iron handle. The only force required to release the support is the slight amount required to move the toggle spring beyond dead center, whereupon the energy stored within the spring is operative tolift the forward end of the iron above the ironing surface and to hold it there until manually depressed. The rest is locked in its retracted position as simply as it is released merely by manually moving the floating end of the toggle past dead center. 7

While I have shown but a single modification of my invention it is to be understood that this modification is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a body consisting of a sole plate, a cover shell and an operating handle having a hollow front leg supported on said cover a shell, and collapsible means for supporting said sole plate out of contact with an ironing surface, said collapsible means being movable back and position between a stable retracted position and a stable extended position in which said sole plate is supported above said ironing surface, said collapsible means including a vertically movable support member extending into said hollow handle leg and being movable downwardly through an opening in the forward portion of said sole plate, said collapsible means also including a double ended over-center toggle spring and a manually operable control, one end of said spring being connected to said support member and the other end to said control, said control being movably mounted so as to shift said other end of the spring past said first end in either direction whereby said control is operable to shift said toggle spring from one over-center position to another to hold said support member in either its retracted or extended positions.

2. A self-lifting smoothing iron as defined in claim 1 wherein said manually operable control is mounted in an opening in said handle and includes a pair of finger pieces one of which is exposed when said support member is extended and the other of which is exposed when said support member is retracted.

3. A self-lifiting smoothing iron having a body consisting of a sole plate, a cover shell and an operating handle provided with a hollow supporting leg opening downwardly into said cover shell, said sole plate being formed with an opening below said hollow leg, a plunger extending downwardly from said hollow leg, and a spring actuated floating toggle mechanism including said plunger and a double ended over-center toggle spring having one end connected to said plunger for holding said plunger in a stable retracted position entirely within said iron or in a stable extended position projecting downwardly below the surface of said sole plate to support said iron in an inclined rest position, said toggle mechanism including manually operable movably mounted control means connected to the other end of said toggle spring for shifting said floating toggle mechanism from either stable position thereof to the other whereupon said toggle spring moves said plunger to its extended position and locks said plunger in its retracted position.

7 4. A self-lifting smoothing iron of the type having a sole plate, a cover shell and a one piece U-shaped handle, said handle being formed with a cavity extending upwardly into one of the legsfof said U-shaped handle and opening laterally through one side thereof, and with a vertically extending opening in the bight portion of said U-shaped handle adjacent said lateral opening, said shell and sole plate being formed with openings in alignment with the cavity in said one handle leg, a plunger extending vertically through said shell and sole plate openings and into said cavity, control lever means having its forward end pivotally supported in said one handle leg and its other end extending through said lateral opening and into said vertical opening in the bight portion of said handle, a toggle spring connected between said plunger and an intermediate point on said control lever and cooperating with said lever and said plunger to form a floating toggle mechanism having two stable positions in one of which said plunger is held retracted within said iron and in the other of which said plunger is held exforth through an unstable 7 tended below said sole plate to support the same in an.

inclined rest position, said control lever being manually operable to shift said toggle mechanism from either stable position thereof to the other whereupon said toggle spring operates to extend said plunger or to hold it in its retracted position. 7

5. A self-lifting smoothing iron as defined in claim 4 wherein said control lever is so shaped and arranged in said one handle leg that only one portion thereof projects from said handle when said plunger is in said retracted position and only another portion thereof projects from said handle when said plunger is in said extended position.

6. An operating handle and self-lifting supporting assembly for use on a said iron comprising, a one piece handle with a supporting leg having a cavity extending upwardly thereinto from the base of said leg, the upper end of said cavity opening laterally through the side of the leg and upwardly through the top side of said handle, a plunger in said cavity extending downwardly below said leg, a control lever having one end pivotally supported Within said handle and the other extending outwardly through said lateral opening and upwardly into said other opening, toggle spring means connected between said plunger and said lever for holding said plunger in a retracted position in said cavity or in an extended position, said connection between said spring means and said control lever constituting a floating toggle joint which is movable by said lever back and forth across the unstable position of said toggle whereby said spring is operable to holdsaid plunger in either of its stable positions, anda single removable member for holding said handle, said controllever and said plunger in assembled position.

7. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a body consisting of a sole plate, a cover shell and an operating handle provided with a hollow front supporting leg opening downwardly into said cover shell, said cover shell extending rearwardly beyond said sole plate and having .a rear end terminating slightly above the surface of said soleplate,

means for elevating said iron to an inclined rest position when not in use comprising, an elongated member normallysenclosed by said iron and extending downwardly through said hollow leg into an opening through the forward portion of said sole plate, movably mounted manually actuable control means, toggle spring means connected between said elongated-member and said control means operable to hold said member in a' stable retracted position above the surface of said sole plate or in a stable extended position appreciably below the surface of the sole plate so as to cooperate with the rear end of said cover shell in supporting said sole plate out of contact with an ironing surface, said control means being operable to shift said toggle spring means past the neutral position thereof after said elongated member has been returned to said retracted position whereby said elongated member is held in said retracted position by said toggle spring means.

8. A self-lifting smoothing iron as defined in claim 7 wherein said control means has a portion which is manually operable when said elongated member is in said retracted position to move said toggle spring means past the neutral position there-oi so that said toggle spring means is then operable to move said elongated member to said extended position to elevate the iron to said inclined rest position.

9. A self-lifting smoothing iron comprising, an electrically heated sole plate, a cover shell therefor, an operating handle having at least one supporting leg provided with a downwardly opening cavity overlying an opening through said shell and through said sole plate, movably mounted control means and an iron supporting member supported for up and down movement within said cavity and through said openings, a toggle spring connected between said supporting member and said control means and operable to hold said supporting member in either a retracted position above the bottom face of said sole plate or an extended position therebelow, said control means being readily accessible to the operators hand and operable to move said toggle spring for conditioning said toggle spring to move said supporting member to the extended position thereof without the need for the operator lifting any portion of the weight of said iron.

10. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a body formed by a sole plate, a cover shell and an operating handle secured together, the front end of said sole plate, cover a shell and handle being formed with openings for housing a collapsible rest mechanism, a collapsible rest mechanism mounted within said openings comprising, a plunger freely movable vertically between a retracted position within the body or" said iron and an extended position in which its lower end projects downwardly through the sole plate to support the iron in an inclined rest position with the sole plate out of contact with an ironing surface, a torsion spring, and a manually operable control member having an end accessible from the exterior of said iron, said spring having one end connected to said plunger and the other end connected to said control member at a point such that when said rest mechanism is in its retracted position said torsion spring urges said plunger upwardly away from the surface of the sole plate and urges said control member downwardly toward the surface of the sole plate, said control member being manually movable upwardly to reverse the position of said spring ends relative to one another while said plunger remains stationary and fully retracted so that said one end of said torsion spring is effective to urge said plunger downwardly while said other end is effective through said control member to lift the forward end of said iron upwardly onto said plunger to support said sole plate in an inclined position out of contact with an ironing surface.

11. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a body formed by a sole plate, a cover shell and an operating handle secured together, the front end of said sole plate, cover shell and handle being formed with openings extending vertically therethrough for a collapsible rest mechanism, a collapsible rest mechanism normally concealed within said openings, said mechanism including a plunger, a control member and a torsion spring having its opposite ends connected one to said plunger and the other to said control member, means restricting said control member for movement between two extreme positions in one of which said spring is effective to urge said plunger upwardly to its fully retracted position and in the other of which said spring is efiective to urge said plunger downwardly below the surface of said sole plate and to lift the forward end of the iron upwardly for support in an inclined rest position on said plunger, said con- 1101 member being accessible from the exterior of said iron and being manually shiftable in both directions between the two extreme positions.

12. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a sole plate, cover shell and an operating handle secured together, collapsible rest mechanism housed within the hollow forward end of said iron, including a plunger reciprocably supported in a vertical plane and having its lower end slidably mounted in an opening formed in and exending through said sole plate, a control member, means movably supporting said control member for movement through a limited path between two extreme positions thereof, a torsion spring having one end connected to said plunger and its other end connected to said control member, said torsion spring being operable when said control member is in one extreme position to hold said plunger fully retracted within the body of said iron and operable when said control member is moved to the other of its extreme positions to move said plunger downwardly through the opening in the sole plate so as to elevate the iron into an inclined rest position, said control member being manually movable to either of its said extreme positions to render said spring effective to hold said plunger extended or retracted within the body of the iron as the operator elects.

13. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a sole plate, cover shell and operating handle secured together, said iron being formed with aligned openings extending upwardly through said sole plate and into the front end of said handle, a plunger reciprocably supported in said openings and being normally retracted so as to be concealed therewithin, a control member movably supported in an opening formed in the wall of said handle and being manually shiftable back and forth between two extreme positions thereof, a torsion spring having one end connected to said plunger and its other end connected to said control member, said spring being operable to hold said plunger retracted within said iron when said control member is in one extreme position and to elevate said iron onto said plunger after said control member is manually shifted to the other of said extreme positions.

14. A self-lifting smoothing iron having a sole plate, cover shell and an operating handle secured together, the forward end of said iron being hollow and the front end of said sole plate being formed with an opening therethrough, a plunger reciprocably supported in said opening and movable back and forward therethrough between a retracted position within said iron and an extended iron supporting position therebelow, a control member movably carried by said iron and having a position accessible from the exterior of said iron, a torsion spring having its ends connected one to said plunger and one to said control member, said spring ends being located on the opposite sides of a plane passing therebetween and operable to hold said plunger retracted when said control member is moved to one position thereof, and the position of said spring ends being reversible to the opposite sides of said plane when said control member is manually shifted to another position thereof so that said spring is then effective to extend said plunger below said sole plate and elevate said iron to the inclined rest position thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,185,915 Ginder Ian. 2, 1940 2,501,549 Swenson Mar. 21, 1950 2,582,082 Swenson Jan. 8, 1952 2,596,314 Wales May 13, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,794 Germany July 11, 1935 630,077 Great Britain Oct. 5, 1949 68,076 Norway July 17, 1944 

